The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-07-23

late-till the cattle had starved in the
spring. This tremendous covering OF snow
did not melt until Feb. 10Th, when ii went
of with "A rush, II being transformed into a
flood of water in three OF four days time,
making n freshet Of mighty proportions.
MANY incidents of the winter Of 1880, 81
that of THE deep snow, are remembered
wildly by the old settlers A man travel
ing on horseback, south of Peru, was lost in
the storm at It's beginning and his body, to.
gether with that of his horse were found
the following April Along the roads
tracks were forced which could be travelled
but h.rse or an OK stepping outside of
the beaten path" was sure 10 founder In
the bottomless depths of the unusually
abundant supply Of "the beautiful" Three
men travelling north from New Hampton,
In what Is now Starke county, twenty five
miles west from LacOn, had u terrible, and
10 two OF them, a tragcal experience, dur
ing the first week of the great snow. They
i. L
with two sleds, each drawn by three yoke
of oxen, were on their way TO Prairie du
Chen Wis, with blankets and provisions
for store which they were 10 open at Fort
Crawford, the nucleus of that ancient town.
They were storm. stayed at farmers house
al the time stated and waited for the snow
all 70 cease and the snow to pack so as to
admit travelling. In order to expedite their
moving forward, they built a new sled, di-
vided their loads and Jokes of cattle, Civ
Ing them three lighter and more managea,
bic outfits, instead of the two they had be
fore, and they employed Mr.. Cooper to
drive the third team" They started, aim
ing for Boyd's Grove, 20 miles distant, the
first day. Hour after hour they plodded
their way across the prairie in the deep
snow, against bitter wind which increas,
ed towards three o'clock In the afternoon
into blizzard. At length the oxen, jaded
and worn, refused longer to face the blast.
The men thought 1t Letter to unhitch the
poor cattle and give them such chance for
their lives AS their instinct would allow.
This done, the three men began fearful
contest with death, marching on against
the icy wind, which now and then took
away their breaths and forced them upon
their knees, or Frustrated them utterly.
Thus, staggering on, falling, rising, sway
Ing like drunken men, they went on and
on, at snail's pace, hour after hour Their
| guide, Mr.. Cooper, knew they were headed
In the right direction for Boyd's Grove, but
as the air at most times was to the eye an
impenetratable mass of drifting snow and
| fine particles of ice, which striking the
face were like so many needles and pins,
he could not tell whether they were half
a mile or half dozen from their destina-
ton AT first II became very evident, that
1t was merely question of endurance
whether any of them would reach the
Grove alive, and next it changed into the
appalling problem of how soon they would
!
in the snow! Franklin led the other two
for an hour and then fell. His companions
saw him, some distance in advance, strug.
Cling on, now falling, now rising, now OBJ
scured by the clouds OF snow in the air,
and at length he disappeared They
worked their way along a half mile or so,
/ h., fnl II
Ian made hole in the snow, covered him
with his own blanket, and thus somewhat
lighter as to clothing and neryed TO desper,
alton by the fate of his fellows and his
own impending doom, summoned all his
strength and presence of mind and once
more faced the pitiless blizzard On he
went, now bowling his head to catch his
breath, now falling upon his knees and
burying his heated face in the snow, invol.
UNFAIRLY for an instant. He found a posi-
tive pleasure In these accidental contacts
with the cooling snow, as he was in a VIC.
lent perspiration from his tremendous ex.
ertions. Yet, In this enjoyment Of res. -
OF cooling his burning hands and face
of respite from the blistering pain from
the pellets of cutting ice hurled against
his defenseless person, he saw the danger
of lying down and going to sleep--that
sleep which to the freezing man is figura.
lively and literally-death, He kept this
constantly In his mind, so that though pres
emily he had left merely vague sense of
rising as If lifted up by the bowling wind /,
of falling as If dropped into an abyss, but
always impelled onward, till at length he
lost consciousness, falling against the very
door of the cabin which he had sought for
ten long and hideous hours The house
was full of storm. stayed travellers, who
quickly raised him and gave him stimu.